Another Grim Reminder Why It Is Always Dangerous to Call the Cops

It’s a crummy lesson, alas crummy police officers keep teaching
it. Circulating around social networks this week–the first person
account was written by a friend of a friend of mine–is this grim (and long) tale
from Medium.com.

It’s about how when Peretz Partensky called 911 when he stumbled
across an injured biker on a San Francisco street, it led to him
being shoved, tackled, kneed in the temple, having an existing
elbow injury exacerbated, cuffed face down on the street, his hands
stomped on, arrested, told he “was going to be a problem,” denied
medical attention, stripped and shoved into solitary confinement,
then let out the next day. When he went to court he had his charges
summarily dismissed.

Excerpts:

After 12 hours in jail, more than 6 of them in solitary
confinement, the process of checking out was unremarkable. I signed
a few papers. Retrieved my backpack. Confirmed the
contents — laptop, wallet, phone, books and keys.

“The charges will be dropped if you show up on Tuesday. If you
don’t show up, there will be a warrant for your arrest,” I was
casually informed.

“Deputy, should I have been here in the first place?”

“No”

It was almost too good to hear. “Then why did I end up
here?”

“You have to consider the source.” This phrase I remember
verbatim.

“How do you mean?”

“I mean, there are a lot of young cops on the street, trying to
make a name for themselves.”…..

Officer Kaur’s unnecessary escalation of a peaceful situation,
culminating in the sadistic stomping on my cuffed hands is a severe
professional failure that reflects poorly on the San Francisco
Police Department. It does not surprise me that she and several of the
other officers I encountered that night are currently in the middle
of a lawsuit…..

I painstakingly retrieved all possible documentation, including:
the police report, transcript of radio chatter, audio of my 911 call, security footage from Radius
restaurant (handed to me freely by the owner), Rebecca’s and Josh’s
feedback, and collected photos from the incident and my
injuries.

I presented all of this to the SF Office of Citizen Complaints.
The filing party is not allowed to know the outcome due to
the Public
Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBAR) but may
be notified if an internal investigation is initiated. Many months
have passed since my complaint, and I have no sense of
progress….

 I conclude with several public service
announcements:

• Don’t call 911. Obviously, there are exceptions, but the sad
  lesson is, there are fewer than you’d think.
• Call Lyft to take you to the hospital. (Worked well when I
  broke my elbow.)
• Take such incidents to trial, where justice isn’t veiled by the
  POBAR. It’s not a matter of litigious vindictiveness. It’s just the
  only available way. The SF Office of Citizen Complaints is not a
  valid alternative.

• Consider wearing a video camera at all times. It has been shown
  that when police wear cameras and are aware of being filmed, it
  moderates their behavior. As self reports of the need to use force
  decrease, so do complaints.